Delhi: ECI hosts conference on 'Role, Framework, Capacity of EMBs'
Oct 31, 2022
New Delhi [India], October 31 : The Election Commission of India is hosting a two-day international conference on the theme 'Role, Framework and Capacity of Election Management Bodies' at New Delhi. The ECI leads the Cohort on Election Integrity - which was established as a follow-on to the 'Summit for Democracy' held in December 2021, said officials on Monday.
The two-day conference is to be held on October 31 and November 1, 2022 and was inaugurated by the Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar. The concluding session will be chaired by Election Commissioner, Anup Chandra Pandey. ECI, as the lead for the Cohort on 'Election Integrity', took a collaborative approach and invited Greece, Mauritius, and IFES to be co-leads for the Cohort. The ECI also invited UNDP and International IDEA, apart from EMBs and Government counterparts dealing with the conduct of elections worldwide.
"Nearly 50 Participants from Eleven EMBs from 11 countries including Armenia, Mauritius, Nepal, Cabo Verde, Australia, Chile, Federal States of Micronesia, Greece, Philippines, Sao Tome & Principe, USA and three international organisations namely, IFES, International IDEA and UNDP India are expected to join. Many more countries are being represented by their Missions in New Delhi," read an official statement.
The first two sessions on Day 1 had discussions on the current and future challenges being faced by the EMBs with respect to their role and framework to ensure 'election integrity'.
The inaugural session was chaired by the CEC who delivered the keynote address. Prior to that, US Charge d' Affairs also addressed the Conference.
The first session on the 'Current challenges' faced by EMBs was co-chaired by the Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius and Nepal. The session will have presentations from Election Authorities in Mexico, Chile, Nepal and Greece.
The second session on 'Future Challenges' is to be co-chaired by the Secretary-General, International IDEA, and the Head of the Department of Elections and Political Parties, Directorate of Elections, Ministry of Interior, Hellenic Republic, Greece.
The session will have presentations from representatives of the Australian Electoral Commission and COMELEC, Philippines. The session on Day 2, 'Capacity of EMBs' will be chaired by President and CEO IFES. The session will have presentations from IFES Country Director (Sri Lanka and Bangladesh), representatives from UNDP and the Head of the Department of Electoral Rolls and Results, Directorate of Elections, Ministry of Interior, Hellenic Republic, Greece.
The concluding session of the Conference on 1st November 2022 which will also see the summary of the proceedings being presented, will be chaired by Election Commissioner, Anup Chandra Pandey who will deliver his address.
A special virtual session to enable stakeholders, who could not send a delegation to New Delhi, is scheduled on 1st November, 2022 at 6:00 PM.
"To firm up recommendations of the Cohort on Election Integrity, ECI will also hold a Conference covering thematics of 'Technology' and 'Inclusive Elections' - both vital building blocks for Elections Integrity worldwide," the statement added.
'Summit for Democracy', was an initiative of the US President hosted in December 2021. The Prime Minister of India spoke at the Leaders Plenary Session on December 9, 2021. Following this Summit, a "Year of Action" was proposed with events and dialogues on themes related to Democracy and to host an in-person 'Leaders' Summit for Democracy' subsequently. The Summit also developed two platforms - 'Focal Groups' and 'Democracy Cohorts' to facilitate participation in the Year of Action.
As part of the 'Summit for Democracy' Year of Action, India through the ECI, is leading the 'Democracy Cohort on Election Integrity' to share its knowledge, technical expertise, and experiences with other democracies of the world. ECI, as its lead, has proposed to also provide training and capacity-building programs to Election Management Bodies (EMBs) across the world and provide technical consultancy as per the needs of other EMBs.
